A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself

Gerald · 06-05-11, 04:05 PM

Victor Valenzuela selects wheat plants for breeding at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico.

CIUDAD OBREGÓN, Mexico — The dun wheat field spreading out at Ravi P. Singh’s feet offered a possible clue to human destiny. Baked by a desert sun and deliberately starved of water, the plants were parched and nearly dead.

Dr. Singh, a wheat breeder, grabbed seed heads that should have been plump with the staff of life. His practiced fingers found empty husks.

“You’re not going to feed the people with that,” he said.

But then, over in Plot 88, his eyes settled on a healthier plant, one that had managed to thrive in spite of the drought, producing plump kernels of wheat. “This is beautiful!” he shouted as wheat beards rustled in the wind.

Hope in a stalk of grain: It is a hope the world needs these days, for the great agricultural system that feeds the human race is in trouble.

The rapid growth in farm output that defined the late 20th century has slowed to the point that it is failing to keep up with the demand for food, driven by population increases and rising affluence in once-poor countries.

Consumption of the four staples that supply most human calories — wheat, rice, corn and soybeans — has outstripped production for much of the past decade, drawing once-large stockpiles down to worrisome levels. The imbalance between supply and demand has resulted in two huge spikes in international grain prices since 2007, with some grains more than doubling in cost.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/sc...ml?ref=science

Note: Published: June 4, 2011

Castout · 06-05-11, 05:06 PM

We are over fishing the fish to extinction as well.

It maybe time to farm the ocean or treat the ocean like a big fish farm and put out some regulation where to farm and how much to put in and how much to gather and set conservation zones. They can't sustain their numbers if left naturally.

Gerald · 06-05-11, 06:15 PM

Some things should have higher priority than other things, to overcome this particular.

yubba · 06-05-11, 10:37 PM

I've always wondered what they were thinking when they cut the last tree down on Easter Island. All we are, are greedy little monkeys on this planet, we could care less what we do to it, or to our selves, yes we could regulate it, but some one would find a way around it, and we can't afford more government in our lives. Well sh@t is about to hit the fan, from what I gather farmers haven't been able to get in the feilds in New England yet, beacuse it is too wet, corn should be knee high by now and the midwest is under water, so all you math wizards can figure out how high food prices are going too get. Remember all this crap in the middle east started as food riots, or the lack of, da.

Freiwillige · 06-06-11, 04:11 AM

Well nature always finds a way to strike a balance. I have said this before mankind is outproducing our sources for survival and once that limit is hit its going to be chaotic and bloody. War, Racism, Cultural-ism, nationalism all going to explode on an epic scale and the worlds population will starve and murder on an unseen scale that will make both world wars look like training days.

That is my prediction and it will probably happen in my lifetime. God Switzerland looks good to me right now.

Oberon · 06-06-11, 07:29 AM

Welcome to the future. It's not just food, water is a problem in some areas, and oil will be running out within the next century if not sooner and the population just keeps on rising.

Resource wars, baby, they're already here and they ain't going away.

TLAM Strike · 06-06-11, 09:39 AM

Yet the US Government pays farmers not to grow crops...

MothBalls · 06-06-11, 11:02 AM

Quote:

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure.

~Agent Smith - The Matrix

Gerald · 06-06-11, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TLAM Strike

Yet the US Government pays farmers not to grow crops...

Just a matter of time,

06-05-11, 04:05 PM	#1
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	A Warming Planet Struggles to Feed Itself Victor Valenzuela selects wheat plants for breeding at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico. CIUDAD OBREGÓN, Mexico — The dun wheat field spreading out at Ravi P. Singh’s feet offered a possible clue to human destiny. Baked by a desert sun and deliberately starved of water, the plants were parched and nearly dead. Dr. Singh, a wheat breeder, grabbed seed heads that should have been plump with the staff of life. His practiced fingers found empty husks. “You’re not going to feed the people with that,” he said. But then, over in Plot 88, his eyes settled on a healthier plant, one that had managed to thrive in spite of the drought, producing plump kernels of wheat. “This is beautiful!” he shouted as wheat beards rustled in the wind. Hope in a stalk of grain: It is a hope the world needs these days, for the great agricultural system that feeds the human race is in trouble. The rapid growth in farm output that defined the late 20th century has slowed to the point that it is failing to keep up with the demand for food, driven by population increases and rising affluence in once-poor countries. Consumption of the four staples that supply most human calories — wheat, rice, corn and soybeans — has outstripped production for much of the past decade, drawing once-large stockpiles down to worrisome levels. The imbalance between supply and demand has resulted in two huge spikes in international grain prices since 2007, with some grains more than doubling in cost. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/05/sc...ml?ref=science Note: Published: June 4, 2011 __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

06-05-11, 05:06 PM	#2
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	We are over fishing the fish to extinction as well. It maybe time to farm the ocean or treat the ocean like a big fish farm and put out some regulation where to farm and how much to put in and how much to gather and set conservation zones. They can't sustain their numbers if left naturally. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

06-05-11, 06:15 PM	#3
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	Some things should have higher priority than other things, to overcome this particular. __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

06-06-11, 09:39 AM	#7
TLAM Strike Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Rochester, New York Posts: 8,633 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 6	Yet the US Government pays farmers not to grow crops... __________________

06-05-11, 10:37 PM	#4
yubba Admiral Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: in a neighborhood near you Posts: 2,478 Downloads: 293 Uploads: 2	I've always wondered what they were thinking when they cut the last tree down on Easter Island. All we are, are greedy little monkeys on this planet, we could care less what we do to it, or to our selves, yes we could regulate it, but some one would find a way around it, and we can't afford more government in our lives. Well sh@t is about to hit the fan, from what I gather farmers haven't been able to get in the feilds in New England yet, beacuse it is too wet, corn should be knee high by now and the midwest is under water, so all you math wizards can figure out how high food prices are going too get. Remember all this crap in the middle east started as food riots, or the lack of, da.

06-06-11, 04:11 AM	#5
Freiwillige The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Phx. Az Posts: 1,458 Downloads: 24 Uploads: 0	Well nature always finds a way to strike a balance. I have said this before mankind is outproducing our sources for survival and once that limit is hit its going to be chaotic and bloody. War, Racism, Cultural-ism, nationalism all going to explode on an epic scale and the worlds population will starve and murder on an unseen scale that will make both world wars look like training days. That is my prediction and it will probably happen in my lifetime. God Switzerland looks good to me right now.

06-06-11, 07:29 AM	#6
Oberon Lucky Jack Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 25,976 Downloads: 61 Uploads: 20	Welcome to the future. It's not just food, water is a problem in some areas, and oil will be running out within the next century if not sooner and the population just keeps on rising. Resource wars, baby, they're already here and they ain't going away.